Forever Like That
by Bohemian.Butterfly
Summary: Today is a very special day in the lives of Sharon Raydor and Andy Flynn. It's their wedding day and neither of them can contain their happiness at the prospect of becoming husband and wife. It's something they've both longed to find for years. That one person who would enter their life and never willingly leave them. Today is more than fancy clothes and I do's. It's a promise.
1. Something New and Dodger Blue

A/N: The idea of writing a Shandy Wedding Fic was suggested to me by one of my Tumblr followers, tearsandbrightness. So, if any of you are looking for someone to thank for this, please thank her. Also, in case any of you were wondering, the title of this was inspired by the song, _Forever Like That_ by Ben Rector. If you've never heard the song, I highly recommend you give it a listen. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen.

 **Chapter 1: Something New and Dodger Blue**

As Sharon woke up that morning, the first thought that came to her mind was how much she'd missed Andy sleeping next to her the previous evening. It seemed silly, but Sharon had grown accustomed to having Andy there next to her every night since they'd made the decision to move in together. She'd certainly missed his strong arms enveloping her first thing in the morning as he leaned over to kiss her. Sharon's bleak mood soon began to recede though because today was a special day. Today was the day she and Andy were getting married and that thought quickly put a smile on her face as she climbed out of bed and slipped on her robe before making her way towards the kitchen in search of coffee.

Sharon wasn't at all surprised to find most of her bridesmaids were still asleep. They'd come over yesterday evening for a girls night after Andy had gone to stay at Provenza and Patrice's house with his groomsmen the previous afternoon. It was still fairly early, but Sharon wasn't at all surprised to find that Patrice, a former nurse, was already up and had brewed some coffee.

"There's the blushing bride," Patrice teased as she hugged Sharon.

"More like bare faced bride this time of the morning, but thank you," replied Sharon as she smiled and returned Patrice's hug.

"Want some coffee?" asked Patrice.

"Please. I didn't sleep that well last night," said Sharon.

"Missing that groom of yours?" inquired Patrice as she poured Sharon a cup of coffee before carefully handing her the mug.

"Thanks. Yeah. I guess I've just gotten used to having him next to me every night and rolling over to see him in the morning when I wake up," answered Sharon.

"I get that way too when Louie's working late on a case. It's just better having them next to you and knowing they're safe and staying out of trouble," said Patrice.

Sharon quickly swallowed the coffee in her mouth as she quietly laughed at just how true Patrice's statement was before she said, "Definitely. Especially the two of them together."

"Amen to that," replied Patrice.

"Speaking of that, would you mind doing me a favor this morning?" asked Sharon.

"Girl, it's your wedding day. It basically gives you license to ask for whatever you want," declared Patrice.

"Okay. I have a little something for Andy that I want him to have before the wedding, but I wanna send a letter along with it. If you can give me about 30 minutes, I can have it ready for you to take over there," explained Sharon.

"Of course, honey. Plus, it'll give me a chance to make sure Louie and the guys haven't completely destroyed the house overnight," joked Patrice.

"Thank you," replied Sharon gratefully as she quickly refilled her mug before heading back into her and Andy's bedroom to write the letter.

* * *

As promised, about thirty minutes later, Sharon and Patrice were standing in the hallway as Sharon handed off the small box and envelope to her good friend. A moment later, Emily came walking down the hall towards them with her own mug of coffee.

"We didn't wake you, did we?" Patrice asked her.

"No. I'm still on east coast time. So, I almost always wake up early when I'm out here in LA," Emily answered.

"I'll be back in a little bit," said Patrice.

"Thank you again," Sharon told her.

"Don't mention it. Like I said, today's your wedding day. Ask away," replied Patrice before she excused herself and began making her way down the hallway and out the front door.

"She's so sweet. How did Provenza manage that one?" inquired Emily.

"I'm not entirely sure sometimes. What I will say though is that Patrice has the patience of a saint," replied Sharon as she walked into the master bedroom with Emily and almost completely shut the door so they didn't wake the others.

"Where's Patrice off to so early?" Emily inquired as they both settled on the bed with their mugs of coffee.

"I had some custom cufflinks made as a little surprise wedding present for Andy and I wanted him to wear them today. So, Patrice agreed to drop them off for me and make sure the guys haven't completely destroyed her house overnight," Sharon informed her daughter.

"Aww…I'm sure he'll love them. Are you excited about today?" Emily asked her.

"Yes. So excited. I never thought I'd be getting married again at this stage in my life. Andy and I finding each other was definitely something neither of us expected to happen, but it's been such a wonderful surprise. I honestly couldn't ask for a better man to be marrying today," said Sharon as a few stray tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh mom," said Emily as she wrapped her mother in a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to keep the tears to a minimum today. No promises though," said Sharon as she began to wipe some of her happy tears away.

"Cry as much as you want, mom. That's what waterproof mascara is for," Emily pointed out.

Sharon laughed at Emily's comment before wrapping an arm around Emily and pulling her daughter towards her in a hug as she said, "I guess you're right."

"Mom?" said Emily.

"Hmm?" Sharon hummed questioningly.

Emily sat up to look at her mother as she said, "I know I'm not here all the time, but I just want you to know how happy I am that you and Andy found each other. From what I've seen, he's a great guy and those brothers of mine seem to love hanging out with him. Most importantly though, I've seen him make you unbelievably happy over the last few years and that's all any of us have ever wanted for you. I'm not saying you weren't happy before, but it's a different kind of happy, you know?"

Sharon swiped at a few more stray tears that escaped her eyes at Emily's touching words before she wrapped her arms around her daughter and replied, "Yeah, I do. I'm so glad all three of you are here to celebrate and be a part of this day with Andy and I. It means so much that you guys made time to be here."

"Oh, mom. We wouldn't miss this day for the world," replied Emily as she hugged her mother back.

Just then, Andrea pushed the door open as her and Amy walked in with their coffee.

"Has she been crying already, Emily?" Andrea joked good naturedly.

"Twice," replied Sharon as she patted the bed and encouraged her and Amy to sit down.

As the two women each took a seat on the end of the bed, Amy asked, "Where's Patrice?"

"She should be back soon. I asked her to stop by her and Provenza's house and drop off some new cufflinks I had made as a surprise gift for Andy," Sharon answered.

"Well, hopefully Lieutenant Provenza and the guys didn't trash the place too much last night. Otherwise, the lieutenant is in for an earful," said Amy.

"Yes. Patrice said as much before she left," replied Sharon as she chuckled at Amy's comment.

* * *

The women ending up making more coffee and eventually migrated to the living room to continue chatting. About thirty minutes later, Patrice walked in the door and set her purse down before coming to join the rest of the women.

"So, what's the damage?" Sharon asked jokingly.

"It wasn't too bad. Most of them were still sleeping when I got there, but that soon to be husband of yours and Mike were up cleaning the kitchen and living room when I got there," said Patrice.

"How did Andy like the cufflinks?" Emily asked her.

"He was very touched and asked me to tell you that he'd wait a lifetime if it meant he got to spend the rest of his life with you," Patrice told Sharon.

Sharon smiled and looked up to try and avoid even more tears from escaping her eyes this morning.

"Looks like the count is up to three now," commented Andrea.

"That's what waterproof mascara is for," said Patrice.

"That's what I said," replied Emily as she high fived Patrice.

"Sounds like you've won the lottery with the Lieutenant, Commander," Amy piped up.

"Amy, it's my wedding day and you're a bridesmaid in my wedding. I think we can dispense with the formalities outside of the PAB," Sharon gently suggested.

"I'll try. It's a hard habit to break," responded Amy.

"That's all I ask. Now, wait here. I have some gifts that I want to give all of you," Sharon told them before she headed down the hallway towards the master bedroom.

"We should've seen this coming," said Andrea.

"Oh, that reminds me. Andy gave me a little something to give to her," said Patrice as she got up to grab an envelope and a small wrapped box out of her purse.

As Sharon returned to the living room, she began handing a gift bag to each of the women. When she handed Patrice hers, Patrice thanked Sharon and handed her the envelope and small box as she said, "Your groom asked me to give you this."

Sharon looked down at the items in her hand and smiled as she made her way back over to the couch and sat down next to Emily. She slid a finger under the flap of the envelope and popped it open before pulling a folded piece of paper out and opening it to reveal a fairly short letter that from what she could tell seemed to have been written this morning. As she read through Andy's beautiful words of love, she laughed and smiled and even shed a few happy tears at the joy the contents of the letter brought her. After Sharon finished reading the letter, she handed it to Emily as she tearily told her, "You can read it out loud. I'm just too big of a mess right now to get through it without crying all over again."

"Okay," replied Emily before she began to read Andy's letter to her mother aloud.

 _My Dearest Sharon,_

 _Words can't even begin to describe how happy I am that this day has finally arrived. If somebody had told me five or ten years ago that you and I would one day be married, I probably would've called bullshit and laughed them out of the room. Everybody else probably would've too considering you worked in FID and I was one of the biggest pains in the asses that FID had ever seen. It's amazing what a bit of time can do to completely change the course of your life. In the best way possible I might add._

 _Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined that things between us would turn out as wonderful as they have. Having you in my life has been and will continue to be one of the greatest blessings I've ever received. I am in awe of your capacity for love every single day. From the way you love me so completely, flaws and all, to the way you have loved and accepted my children and grandchildren into your life as if they were your own._

 _What we've accomplished in the just over two years that we've been together is nothing short of a miracle. Especially considering the baggage the two of us and our families have had to deal with. Neither of our pasts have been exactly rosy, but like I said before it's amazing what time can do to completely turn your world around._

 _Also, I got you a little "something new" to wear today. The girls helped me pick it out and assured me that it would go with what I'm positive will be a stunning dress that you'll be wearing today. I missed you last night and I can't wait to see you walk down that aisle this afternoon._

 _All my love,_

 _Andy_

"So, that was the sweetest letter in the history of like ever," Emily commented as a few tears escaped her own eyes as she handed the letter back to Sharon.

Sharon pulled Emily into a one armed hug as she replied tearily, "I know, right?"

"So, what's in the box?" asked Amy.

"I don't know, but obviously someone here does," Sharon commented as she looked over at Emily knowingly.

"In our defense, Nicole and I were only there to provide feedback on whether it would go with your dress. Andy's the one who picked it out and I was only there via Facetime," explained Emily.

"He better not have gone out and bought anything extravagant," said Sharon as she began to tear the wrapping paper off the small box.

"Don't worry, mom. It's nothing over the top. Andy told us he just wanted to get you a little something special for the big day. Said knowing you and your sense of occasion as well as he does, he just knew some sort of gift from you was bound to show up the day of the wedding," explained Emily.

Sharon laughed at the truth contained in that statement before turning her attention back to opening the velvet box in front of her. Inside, she found a simple silver chain with a single pearl dangling from the middle of it with a pair of matching earrings on either side of it. As she ran a hand over the beautiful yet simple jewelry, she smiled as she said, "He knows me well. Beautiful yet simple."

"With good taste in jewelry, apparently," commented Andrea as she snuck a peek at the contents of the box.

"Never a bad thing to have," added Patrice jokingly.

"Amen to that," replied Emily.

"Speaking from personal experience?" inquired Amy.

"Yes. I'd like to know the answer to that question too, Amy," added Sharon as she turned to look at her daughter.

"Well, yeah. Nobody recently, but I've dated a couple guys in the past who have gifted me with some pretty decent jewelry," answered Emily.

"Me too. Plus, it's not like they asked for it back," said Andrea.

"Probably because they were afraid you'd eviscerate them in court," joked Patrice.

"I'm not gonna lie, I've actually done that to a couple of my exes," admitted Andrea.

"Why am I not surprised by this?" asked Sharon rhetorically.

"Because you know how much I enjoy raking pricks over the coals in court," responded Andrea.

"Touché. Now, before you girls open those, I'd like to make a little speech. I haven't always been surrounded by a ton of friends. For a multitude of reasons as you all well know. With that being said, I am eternally grateful to be able to call each and every one of you a very good friend of mine, and today, a bridesmaid. I seriously couldn't ask for a better group of women to stand at the front of the church with me this afternoon as Andy and I say I do. Your unyielding friendship means the world to me and I have no idea what I would do without each and every one of you in my life. So, these are a small thank you for all the love and support you've given me," Sharon emotionally told them.

It was then that each of the women stood up and enveloped Sharon in a big group hug as they each thanked her for whatever gifts were contained in their gift bags.

"Okay. Present time!" exclaimed Sharon excitedly.

"I swear mom. I think you get more excited about giving gifts than receiving them," joked Emily as she and the rest of the women shared a laugh over her statement as they each unwrapped the contents of their gift bags.

Inside each bag was a beautiful purple satin robe that had the woman's initials monogrammed in white near the top of the robe and a pair of simple silver drop earrings with a translucent gemstone at the end of them.

Each of the women pulled on their robes and set their matching earrings aside to put on before the wedding and joined together in the anticipation and excitement that was beginning to build over the couple's big day.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Provenza and Patrice's house, everybody was now up and had eaten breakfast. Andy thought now was the perfect time to pull Ricky and Rusty aside and give them their gifts before things got too crazy.

"Hey. Would you mind coming back to the guest room for a minute? I've got something I wanna give you and your brother," Andy told Ricky.

"Sure," replied Ricky as he tapped Rusty on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow him and Andy.

The three men quietly slipped away from the group and headed down the hallway towards the guest room. Once they entered, Andy went over to the dresser and grabbed two small boxes out of a gift bag and handed one to each of them.

"Now before you open those, I wanna say something to the two of you. I knew even before your mom and I started dating that she was a package deal. As was I. We each have kids from either previous marriages or adoption and we knew that one of the most important things that needed to happen was for both of us to build relationships with the other's children. To gradually evolve from a yours and mine mindset to one where an ours exists when it comes to the five of you kids. A sense of family, even if not all of us are related by blood. Now, I think we've done a pretty good job of that so far as have the five of you. So, this is a little something that symbolizes the fact that while we may not be related by blood, I'm always here for you guys no matter what," said Andy before motioning for them to open the boxes.

As both Ricky and Rusty popped open the small boxes, they revealed identical pairs of engraved cufflinks that said, "Some families are created in different ways" on the left one and, "but are still in every way a family" on the right one.

"Wow, Andy. I don't know what to say. These are amazing. Thank you," Ricky told Andy before wrapping him in a hug.

"Yeah, Andy. These are super cool. Thanks," replied Rusty as he too unexpectedly hugged Andy.

"You guys deserve it. You're both great kids with great heads on your shoulders and we have your mother to thank for that. I seriously could ask for any better bonus kids than the two of you and your sister," said Andy.

"But we're more special than her cause we got gifts," joked Ricky.

"Oh don't you worry. I got her a little something too. As did your mother for Nicole and Brandon. That way everything's fair and equal," replied Andy.

"So much for your theory, Ricky," teased Rusty.

Ricky quickly shoved Rusty through the doorway and out into the hall as he and Andy followed behind as they made their way back out into the living room to join the rest of the group. Andy had brought the bag with his gifts for the groomsmen out and soon began handing out small boxes that were roughly the size of Ricky and Rusty's to the rest of the guys.

"What's this, Flynn?" Provenza asked suspiciously.

"A little thank you gift for standing at the front of the church with me this afternoon," answered Andy.

As they all opened the boxes, each man found a pair of cufflinks that said, "Suit" on one and "Up" on the other.

"These are great, Andy. Thanks," said Mike.

The rest of the guys offered Andy their thanks as well before Provenza commented, "Seems the Commander and her sense of occasion have been rubbing off on you."

"Good thing too," joked Julio.

"Yeah, yeah. Get it all out now before we head to the church. Cause we all know my soon to be wife will have all your asses if she hears that you've been acting like this in the church," Andy told them.

A chorus of laughter erupted from the group at just how true Andy's statement was. As the rest of the group became embroiled in conversation, Andy quietly slipped away and back down the hall towards the guest room. He'd left Sharon's letter unopened on the nightstand to read when he had a moment to himself and couldn't wait to open it. As Andy peeled open the envelope and unfolded the letter he couldn't help but smile at the sight of Sharon's familiar handwriting as he began to read the letter. It said:

 _Oh My Sweet Andy,_

 _As I sit here sipping my coffee and writing you this letter, I can't help but smile to myself. Mostly because it's our wedding day and I can't wait to marry you, but for other reasons too. Like how I'm sitting here in one of your old Dodger T-shirts because it smells like you and I missed the feeling of your arms wrapped around me when I went to sleep last night. The thought of which triggered a whole string of other happy memories. Like how nervous you acted as you walked me to my door after our first date at Serve. You got all awkward and I found you all the more endearing for it. Because you care so much about little things like that and didn't just assume that things were going to end a particular way that evening. More than that though it showed that you respected me. Both as a person and as a romantic partner. It also quite possibly was one of the reasons I told you that you could kiss me if you wanted to that night. That kiss, of course, was only the beginning of the joy and love that you've brought into my life over the last two years...or if I'm being honest probably a bit longer than that._

 _You coming into my life the way you did was so unexpected. Yet, it has been one of the greatest blessings I've ever received. You managed to break down the walls around my heart with your friendship, the way you make me laugh, and the fact that you're always there to love and support me during both the good times and the not so good times. Before I even knew what was happening, I'd fallen for you, and even though the thought of that initially scared me, I've never been surer of something than I am of my love for you._

 _In a few short years, you've become my best friend, my boyfriend, my lover, the man I'm happily cohabitating with, and today, you will become my husband and I will be your wife. Just the thought of that makes me smile so much that my cheeks will probably start hurting soon, but I don't care because I've never been happier or surer of anything in my life. I can't wait to see you at the front of the church this afternoon looking positively handsome in your suit that you refused to let me see before the wedding._ _Speaking of which,_ _I got you a little something for our big day that I hope goes well with that dashing suit of yours._

 _See you at the end of the aisle,_

 _Sharon_

By the time Andy finished reading Sharon's letter, he had the biggest goofy smile on his face. Today was the day he was marrying his best friend and the woman he was madly in love with. Sharon was the type of woman you never truly stopped falling in love with. Andy found that he was constantly finding more and more reasons to love Sharon and by some sort of miracle she had agreed to marry him today. He counted himself lucky every single day that she was in his life and that she had agreed to become his wife.

With that, Andy sat down to begin working on his vows. He began them the same way he began every letter and love note he'd ever written her.

 _My Dearest Sharon…_

A/N: Hope ya'll enjoyed the first chapter of this fic. The plan is for this story to be a three chapter mini fic, but it might end up being four chapters if this next chapter ends up running long. As always, please leave me a review to let me know what you thought of this first chapter. As a writer, I find your feedback and constructive criticism to be of great value in helping me to become a better writer. Your support for my stories is greatly appreciated!


	2. I'll Be Here

A/N: So, the title for this chapter is loosely based on two surprising moments that Sharon experiences in this chapter. I'll let you figure those out as you read though, as I'd hate to spoil anything for you guys ahead of time. Enjoy and happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen. 

**Chapter 2: I'll Be Here**

About 11am, the women began taking turns in the bathroom to shower. After each woman got out, Patrice painted everybody's nails. Each of the bridesmaids nails were painted a neutral nude color so as not to clash with the purple bridesmaid's dresses they would be wearing at the wedding. Meanwhile, Sharon's nails were painted a fall mauve color so that they popped a bit against her ivory lace wedding dress, but still coordinated well with it.

After Patrice finished everybody's nails, she finally got into the shower as Emily took over and started doing everybody's hair. Amy opted for a half up, half down look with the ends slightly curled, while Andrea left her hair down with a slight curl to the ends. Once Patrice got out of the shower, Emily styled Patrice's hair similar to Andrea's, but with slightly less curl to it.

As the other women went to change into their dresses, Sharon stood up from her place at the end of her and Andy's bed and said to Emily, "Sit for a few minutes. You've been running around doing everyone else's hair. Sit down and let me do yours."

"Shouldn't that be my line? It is your wedding day after all," Emily pointed out as she took a seat in the chair in front of the vanity.

"It is, but I haven't gotten to do this in a really long time. Plus, it'll give us a chance to talk for a few minutes and then I'll let you do my hair afterwards," said Sharon.

"Just like when I was a kid," responded Emily.

At that, a few loose tears fell from Sharon's eyes. She quickly swiped them away before she asked Emily, "Okay. Do you want your hair up or down?"

"Are you sure you're okay, mom?" Emily inquired as she turned around to look at her.

"I'm fine. You're just so grown up. It seems like just yesterday you were dancing in your first ballet recital and now look at you. You're grown up and living in New York and living your dream of being a professional ballerina," replied Sharon nostalgically.

"Oh, mom. No matter how old I get, you'll always be my mom," said Emily as she gently squeezed Sharon's hand.

"I know. I guess getting married is just making me a bit nostalgic. So, up or down?" Sharon asked Emily as she turned her attention back to doing her hair.

"How are you wearing yours?" inquired Emily.

"In a nice updo. It'll look better with the birdcage veil that way," answered Sharon.

"How about a simple updo then with a couple loose strands hanging on the sides? Then, you can get into your dress and I can do your hair," said Emily.

"Deal," replied Sharon as she began brushing and styling Emily's hair.

"Mom?" inquired Emily.

"Hmm," Sharon hummed questioningly as she began pinning up Emily's hair.

"What if I have a different dream?" Emily asked her.

"What do you mean?" Sharon prodded curiously.

"What if I've fulfilled my dream of being a professional ballerina and my dreams have changed?" asked Emily.

"Well, I'd say that's part of life. I mean look at me. I wanted to go to law school, but what started as a job to bring in a source of income turned into a passion for helping people and enjoying being a police officer more than my original dream of being a lawyer. Sometimes dreams change and we find new passions in life," said Sharon.

"Yeah. I think that's what's happening with me. I love being a ballerina, but I'm getting older and a professional ballet career doesn't last forever. I have a friend in New York who owns his own dance studio and I've been teaching a few modern dance classes on my off days and I really love it. So, I was thinking maybe I'd finish out the rest of this season and start teaching dance full time," Emily told her mother.

"I think that's great, honey! It's obvious that you've found something else that you really love. It'll probably be much more predictable hours too. So, you'll actually have time to have a social life," Sharon pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess so. There's also one more thing. I was thinking I might move back to LA and teach at a dance school here. It'll be closer to you guys and Rusty and it'll be easier to go and visit Ricky more often. New York is great, but…" Emily trailed off.

"It's not home," Sharon finished.

"Exactly. I just wanna be closer to all of you and be able to spend more time with everyone," replied Emily.

"You know that I would love having you here in LA full time, but this has to be your decision. Only move back here if it's what you truly want," Sharon told Emily.

"I know. It's something I've been thinking about for a while actually. I'm positive this is what I want, mom. I didn't want to tell you until I was absolutely sure," assured Emily.

"Okay, then. So when would you be moving back?" Sharon asked her.

"I'll be home for Christmas this year and then I should be able to be out here by early next year. I was planning to go look at apartments while I'm here. See what's available," answered Emily.

"This is the best news you could've given me today," Sharon told Emily as she wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders.

"I'm glad. I'm really excited to move back. It just seems like the right time, you know," said Emily.

"Yes. I can't believe all of you are going to be in the same state again. It's gonna be great," replied Sharon excitedly as she put the finishing touches on Emily's hair.

After Sharon finished with her hair, Emily stood up to face her mom as she told her, "I'm gonna go grab Patrice, Andrea, and Amy so they can help you change into your dress."

"Okay," acknowledged Sharon before Emily left to retrieve the other three women.

* * *

As the four women reentered the room a minute later, Patrice cheered, "Okay, dress time."

Patrice and Andrea took the knee length lace dress off the hanger and undid at the back of it so Sharon could step into her dress. As Sharon began to disrobe, Andrea caught a glimpse of the lavender lace push up bra and matching underwear she had on and said, "Damn, girl. Somebody wants to get lucky tonight."

"Isn't that generally the point of a wedding night?" Sharon cheekily asked her.

"It is if you're doing it right," piped up Patrice as Sharon began to step into her dress.

The women laughed at Sharon and Patrice's comments as the two women slid the dress up Sharon's body and helped her into the lace sleeves. After that, Andrea zipped up the back of it before Emily said emotionally, "Oh, mom. You look beautiful."

"You really do, Sharon. The lieutenant is gonna lose it when he sees you," said Amy.

"Oh, he's gonna lose it alright. He won't be able to keep his eyes or his hands off of her," added Patrice.

"Not that he does anyways," remarked Andrea.

The three women laugh at the amount of truth contained in Andrea's comment before there's a knock at the front door. Emily excuses herself for a moment to go answer it. When she opens the door, Emily finds Nicole standing there with a man she doesn't readily recognize.

She looks at them for a moment before it occurs to her who this man is and she asks him, "Are you...?"

To which he sticks his hand out towards her and replies, "The mystery son? Yes. Brandon Flynn."

Emily introduces herself and Nicole mentions to Brandon that Emily is Sharon's daughter. Emily chastises herself for her lack of manners and tells them to come in.

After Emily invites them inside, she has Nicole and Brandon follow her about halfway down the hallway before she asks them to wait a minute so she can clear everybody else out of the room.

Once everybody else exited the room, Emily told her mother, "Nicole's here to see you.

"Oh my goodness. Nicole, get in here," Sharon told Nicole as she quickly steps inside and Emily quietly excuses herself from the room.

The two women hug before Nicole said, "I brought a bit of a surprise with me today."

"A surprise?" Sharon asked confusedly since her and Andy had asked all the guests not to bring them any wedding presents.

Nicole eagerly nods her head and it begins to dawn on Sharon what, or rather who, the surprise could be.

"No way! He's here?!" Sharon responded excitedly.

Nicole nods her head and smiles before she pulls her brother into the room.

A few tears fall down Sharon's face, before Brandon says to Nicole, "What's happening? Did we just break dad's fiancée? I'm not an expert or anything, but I don't think you're supposed to do that to your dad's future wife on their wedding day."

Nicole punches her brother in the shoulder as Sharon laughs at Brandon's comment and says to Nicole, "I see he has the same sense of humor as your father."

"Definitely," chuckled Nicole.

Brandon steps forward towards Sharon and extends his hand as he says, "Brandon Flynn."

"Sharon Raydor," replies Sharon as she shakes his hand.

"Soon to be Flynn," comments Brandon.

"Yes. Can I give you a hug?" Sharon emotionally asked him.

"Sure," answered Brandon as he opened his arms up to her.

Sharon enveloped Brandon in a hug as he patted her back awkwardly.

"Sharon's a hugger. You'll get used to it," Nicole piped up from behind her brother.

"You better get over here too. You're not exempt from any of this either," Sharon told Nicole.

A few moments later, the group hug broke apart as Brandon asked his sister, "Hey Nic. You mind giving us a few minutes?"

"Sure. Sharon?" Nicole asked.

"We'll be fine. We still have about an hour and a half until we need to leave for the church and all that needs to be done is my hair and attaching the veil. I'd like to spend a bit of time getting to know this brother of yours that I've heard so much about," smiled Sharon as she looked from Nicole to Brandon and back again.

"Okay. I'll be out in the living room with Emily and the rest of the bridesmaids," replied Nicole.

"Thanks, Nic," Brandon told his sister before she shut the door behind her and headed for the living room.

"So, I got your letter last week," Brandon began.

"And you've decided to come to the wedding," replied Sharon questioningly.

"Yeah. Dad and I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to our relationship, but it seemed like the right thing to do," said Brandon.

Sharon smiled to herself for a moment and motioned for Brandon to sit before she asked, "Do you mind if I tell you a story about your father? It seems oddly fitting for this occasion."

"Sure. Go ahead," replied Brandon kindly as he sat down on the bench behind him and motioned for Sharon to continue.

"Okay. So, about four years ago, around the time of Nicole and Dean's wedding, your father was rather grumpy and I couldn't figure out why. So, I asked his partner...you know Provenza, right?" Sharon asked him.

"Oh, good old Provenza," Brandon replied in acknowledgement.

"So, I ask Provenza why Andy had been so grouchy lately and he told me that your sister was getting married that weekend and while Andy was looking forward to being there for Nicole, he wasn't so much looking forward to having to interact with people who hated him. Anyways, a couple days later, your dad came into my office after we'd closed a case to see if he could leave a little early so he could be there before Nicole's wedding started. Meanwhile, I'd had this plan in my head for a couple days now to offer to go with him and be a buffer between him and some of the people there who might not be his biggest fans. I think it sort of took him by surprise when I offered to go with him though. We weren't anything more than Captain and Lieutenant at that point and I think he was shocked that I'd even offer to do something like that. I told him that I liked weddings, but I think he may have initially gotten the wrong impression about what I was offering because he asked me to clarify that it wasn't a date, which I assured him it wasn't. So, if you saw me smiling there for a moment when you said coming to the wedding was the right thing to do, that's why. Your dad said pretty much the same thing when I asked him if he'd decided to go to Nicole's wedding that afternoon," continued Sharon.

"From one wedding to another. Is that why you wrote the letter?" Brandon asked Sharon as he smiled at the story she'd just told him about his father.

"Maybe a little bit. You are your father's son, so I figured he must have passed at least a few of his personality traits onto you. That's not why I decided to write you that letter though. You see, we're about to share the same last name. Family is very important to me and seeing as you're about to become my stepson, I didn't want you to feel isolated from us or excluded in any way just because you and your father have a complicated relationship. I wanted you to feel just as much a part of this family as Nicole, Emily, Ricky, and Rusty are despite the way things are between you and your dad. That I'm not in the business of taking anybody's side in this just because I'm about to marry your father. That I'm here to listen and support both of you through this process and beyond," explained Sharon.

Brandon smiled at Sharon's answer before he replied, "Well, thanks for sending the letter. It may have been the push I've needed for a while now to take that first step to try and rebuild my relationship with my dad."

"Like I said, I'm not here to take sides or push either of you into anything you're not ready for," reiterated Sharon.

"I can see that and I'm grateful because god knows the relationship between him and I is complicated enough. It's time though and no matter how much I try to deny it, if there's one thing I've inherited from him, it's his stubbornness," said Brandon.

"Yes, I've experienced that on both a professional and personal level with him," admitted Sharon.

Brandon chuckled at Sharon's response before he asked, "Umm...do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all," responded Sharon genuinely as she gave Brandon a warm smile.

"Okay. Well, I guess I'm just wondering how the two of you came to be together," said Brandon questioningly.

"Well, I've known your dad professionally for quite a few years. His name used to come across my desk quite a bit when I worked in Internal Affairs. Needless to say we were well acquainted with each other back then and not in a good way," began Sharon.

"So, you guys hated each other's guts," said Brandon questioningly.

"That's one way to put it. I thought he was a troublemaker and a bit of a pain in the ass and he thought I was the wicked witch," Sharon clarified.

"So, how did you guys go from that to where you are today?" asked Brandon.

"Well, almost six years ago, I was transferred from Internal Affairs to, Major Crimes and became your dad's boss after his previous commanding officer left the LAPD. We still didn't get along super well at first, but we eventually came to have a mutual respect for each other as colleagues. After about a year and a half, we became friends and started spending a little more time with each other after we went to Nicole's wedding together. At the time, I was legally separated from my ex-husband and had been for a number of years. He hadn't been a part of my life or Emily & Ricky's for a long time, but I guess the Catholic in me couldn't put pen to paper and make it official years ago like I should have. Anyways, your dad and I started spending more and more time together outside of work and as my youngest son, Rusty is so fond of pointing out, Andy and I were "dating" several times a month for about a year before we officially started dating," continued Sharon.

"So, you got divorced," said Brandon.

"Yes, but not because of that. Rusty, my youngest son, is adopted, and at the time I'd been fostering him for a couple years and was looking to make things official and adopt him," explained Sharon.

"So, you kicked your ex to the curb," said Brandon.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. After that was taken care of, I adopted Rusty. Things between your dad and I were beginning to change, but I think both of us were a bit afraid to acknowledge it at that point. The next few months got a bit hectic and chaotic for me and I started to push your dad away. Eventually though, I came to realize that you can't put your life on hold because of life's what ifs. So, your dad and I took things slow, but we started dating a couple years ago. We were already best friends by that point, so falling in love with each other came about rather organically for both of us. Fast forward a couple years, your dad and I had been living together for a while, he surprised me with a romantic proposal out on the balcony, and the rest is history," finished Sharon.

"I haven't seen him much the last couple years, but when I have, you could tell there was something different about him. He seemed happier and just more at peace. I guess we can largely attribute that to you becoming a bigger part of his life," said Brandon.

"I definitely think being together has changed both of our lives for the better and brought both of us a sense of inner peace and contentment that we'd been missing in our lives, but your dad deserves more credit for the changes he's made to his life over the last few years than I do. I was just there to love and support him along the way," explained Sharon.

"Do you think he'd want to see me before the wedding?" Brandon asked unsurely.

"I think he'd love that. He's been hoping against hope that you'd decide to come today. He'll be over the moon to see you," Sharon answered confidently.

"Okay. Well, I should let you finish getting ready, but thanks for taking the time to meet with me. I think Nic and I are gonna go see dad before the wedding, but congratulations and welcome to the family. It's easy to see how good the two of you are for each other," Brandon told Sharon before standing up and unexpectedly enveloping her in a hug.

As Sharon pulled away from his embrace a few moments later, she tearily replied, "Thank you. It was very nice to meet you. I hope we'll be seeing a bit more of you in the future. Before you guys go though, can you go grab Nicole real quick and come back here for a minute? I've got a little something for each of you."

"Sure," replied Brandon as he went to open the door and headed down the hall to get Nicole.

* * *

A minute later, Brandon came walking back down the hallway with Nicole following closely behind him. As they walked back into Sharon and Andy's bedroom, Nicole immediately smiled at Sharon and said, "Since I didn't get a chance to say this before, I'll say it now. You look absolutely gorgeous, Sharon. Dad's seriously gonna freak out when he sees you."

Sharon smiles a watery smile as she goes to hug Nicole and said, "Thank you sweetie. Sorry I'm such a mess. I can't seem to stop crying today."

"It's all part of the overwhelming happiness of such a special day. Besides, that's why God invented waterproof mascara," Nicole told her.

Sharon laughed heartily at Nicole's comment before she said, "You're like the third person who has told me that today."

"Well, we must be onto something then," replied Nicole.

"Yeah," responded Sharon as she swiped at the tears that fell from her eyes.

Sharon took a moment to compose herself before she turned around and opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out two small wrapped boxes.

"This one's for you," explained Sharon as she handed one of the boxes to Nicole.

"And this one's for you," said Sharon as she handed the other box to Brandon.

"Oh, Sharon. You didn't have to get us anything. Thank you," replied Nicole.

"Now, before you guys open those, I just wanna say something. I may not have given either of you the gift of life, but life has certainly given me two extra special gifts in the form of the two of you. It seems like just yesterday, I had 2 grown children and was a completely empty nester. I didn't realize that anything was missing from my life back then, but now I can't even bear to picture a life where the two of you, Rusty, the boys and Dean, and your father aren't  
in it, nor do I ever want to. All of you have brought so much joy into my life from the moment you entered it and I seriously couldn't have asked for two better bonus kids. So, while today is about your father and me making important promises to each other in front of God and all of our family and friends, it's also about us making a promise to the five of you. To love each of you forever too. So, this is a symbol of that promise," Sharon genuinely conveyed to Brandon and Nicole before she motioned for them to open their boxes.

Once Nicole and Brandon opened their boxes, they each found a necklace with matching inscriptions that read:

 _Today I tell your Dad I do and I promise you forever too._

Each necklace was signed with a small heart punched out at the bottom and then Sharon's name next to it. Nicole's was a round silver pendant with a matching silver chain, while Brandon's was a slightly longer and thicker gold chain with a dog tag shaped pendant hanging from it.

"Oh my goodness, Sharon. You're gonna make me cry. This is such a beautiful gift and...just thank you so much. For this, for coming into Dad's life and keeping him in line, and for coming into our lives with the warmest welcoming presence anyone could ask for. I truly can't imagine a better person for Dad to be marrying today or a better woman to call my stepmom," replied Nicole emotionally.

By this point, both Sharon and Nicole had tears streaming down their faces as Sharon pulled Nicole into a hug and whispered, "That's a title I'm overwhelmingly proud to hold."

"Let not forget the other title you'll be taking this afternoon," added Nicole.

Sharon laughed and smiled at Nicole's comment before she replied, "Yeah."

"Okay, I think we've done enough crying for now. I'm gonna go down the hall and fix my face real quick."

"Okay," replied Sharon before Nicole excused herself and made her way to the bathroom.

* * *

As Sharon swiped at the remaining tears falling from her eyes, she turned around to look at Brandon and smiled as she told him, "You don't have to say anything. Like I said in that letter, we hardly know each other."

"How did you know I'd decide to show up?" Brandon asked her.

"I didn't. I just had faith that things would work out the way they were supposed to in their own time. Regardless of your decision about whether to come today or not, I was gonna make sure you got that. Even if it meant I had to send it along with Nicole to give to you. You're a part of this family, Brandon. I wanted you to know that I'd always be here, even if you weren't quite ready yet to address things between you and your dad," explained Sharon.

To Sharon's surprise, Brandon made his way towards her and wrapped her in a hug. Sharon returned the hug before Brandon pulled away a few moments later and said, "I know it's not gonna be easy, but I'm ready to start working on things with him."

Sharon smiled at that before she replied, "He will be so happy to hear that."

"Yeah. Like I said, it's time," said Brandon.

"Well, I'll be here for both of you every step of the way," Sharon told him.

"I'm glad. Something tells me you're going to be an integral part of helping to bring us together," Brandon told her.

"Whatever I can do to help you guys repair the damage between you," responded Sharon.

"Thank you. For that and for this. It really means a lot that you were willing to make such a huge promise like this when we barely even know each other," said Brandon.

"Well, now that we've officially met, I look forward to getting to know you more," Sharon told him.

"Me too," replied Brandon.

"You guys are seriously gonna make me start crying again," Nicole told them from her place in the doorway.

"Well then, let's say goodbye so Stepmommy Dearest here can get her hair done and this wedding can start on time," suggested Brandon.

Sharon laughed at the nickname before looking at Nicole and saying, "What did I tell you? Just like your father."

Nicole laughed at Sharon's comment before replying, "Too much sometimes."

"Okay. That's enough out of you. Bye, Sharon," said Brandon as he gently pushed his sister towards the doorway.

"Bye Sharon," Nicole called from the hallway.

"Bye. I'll see you guys later," Sharon called out to them.

As Brandon and Nicole made their way back into the living room, Brandon said, "Okay, ladies. She's all yours now. It was nice to meet you, Emily."

"You too," replied Emily as she walked them towards the door.

"We'll see you at the wedding," Nicole told Emily before she quickly hugged her as Brandon opened the front door.

"Okay," said Emily as she quickly hugged Nicole back before she and Brandon began to make their way down the hall and towards the elevator.

As Emily shut the front door and began making her way back down the hallway towards her mother and Andy's bedroom, she thought about just how great this day was shaping up to be and how it was only going to get even better. The thought of which made her smile to herself because she honestly couldn't think of two people who deserved this level of happiness more than her mother and her soon to be stepfather. Each had traveled a difficult path in their lives, but meeting one another and falling in love had been a life altering experience for both of them. One which would soon culminate in the two of the saying I do and her mother taking Andy's last name, which made her smile even more. Andy was a great guy and most importantly he made her mother deliriously happy. After growing up and watching all the pain and heartache her mom went through with her thankfully now ex-husband, happiness and love were the two best things Emily could've asked of the man about to marry her mother, and Andy more than met that criteria. 

A/N: Hope ya'll enjoyed the second chapter of this fic! The plan is for this story to be five chapters long. It was originally only going to be four chapters and end with the wedding, but I've decided to add on a reception chapter as well. Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought of this latest chapter. As a writer, I find your feedback and constructive criticism to be of immense value as I feel that it helps me to become a better writer. Thanks for reading!


	3. Ready For This

A/N: So, the title of this chapter is inspired by a few things actually. It's a play on the title of a song (…Ready For It?) from Taylor Swift's latest album, Reputation. Secondly, it's sort of inspired by what Andy says to Ricky and Rusty in 5x18 about being emotionally ready for their mom. Lastly, it also makes reference to the final line of this chapter, which of course you'll see once you've finished reading it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or M/C, but if I did, this is what would happen. 

**Chapter 3: Ready For This**

As Andy and the guys arrived at the church, they stood outside for a bit as the photographer took numerous group photos of them. After they finished taking pictures, there was still about an hour or so until the wedding was supposed to start. So, the men found an empty community room and decided to pull out some folding chairs to sit in and talk while they waited.

Soon enough though, Andy stood up and began pacing back and forth across the room.

"For the love of God, Flynn, sit down. You're making me nuts with all that pacing," Provenza told Andy.

"Sir, we're in a church," Julio teased Provenza before smiling to the rest of the group.

"I don't care if we're at the Vatican, Julio. Flynn's pacing is driving me crazy. What have you got to be nervous about anyways?" Provenza asked Andy.

"Nothing. It's a nervous excitement is all. I just can't seem to sit still," explained Andy.

Just then, Rusty's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to look at it and saw he had a text from Nicole asking if they were at the church yet. He quickly texted back yes before his phone buzzed again with a text asking if he could come outside for a minute. He told Nicole he'd be right there before sending a quick text to Ricky. It said:

 _Make up some excuse about leaving the room for a minute and ask me to come help you. I'll tell you what it's about once we get outside the door._

Ricky looked down at his phone confusedly for a second before he announced, "I'm gonna go get us all some water. Wanna help me, Rusty?"

"Sure," replied Rusty as both he and Ricky made their way out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"What's going on, little brother?" Ricky asked Rusty.

"Nicole's outside and she asked me to come meet her out there. Thought you might wanna tag along," explained Rusty.

"Why didn't she just come inside and find us?" Ricky asked confusedly.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Figured we'd better go together and find out what's up," Rusty told his brother.

"Let's go, then," replied Ricky as he and Rusty headed towards the front doors of the church.

* * *

Once they made their way outside and found Nicole, Rusty exchanged a confused glance with his brother about the man standing next to her before Ricky whispered, "Holy shit. I think that's Andy's son."

"What?" Rusty quickly whispered back before they came face to face with Nicole and the mystery man.

"Ricky, Rusty, this is my brother, Brandon Flynn. Brandon, these are Sharon's sons, Ricky and Rusty," said Nicole as she introduced everyone.

"Nice to meet you guys," replied Brandon as he stuck his hand out to shake each of theirs.

"You too," both of them responded as they each shook his hand.

"I knew it," Ricky told Rusty.

"Knew what?" Nicole asked them.

"That the mystery dude next to you was your brother and Andy's son," answered Rusty as he glanced between Nicole and Brandon.

"Andy's shown us pictures of you before," added Ricky.

Hopefully no embarrassing ones," replied Brandon.

Nah. Just pictures of you and Nicole at different family things or playing around with Ben and Finn," Rusty assured him.

"So, we'd like to have a few minutes alone with dad and were wondering if you could..." Nicole trailed off.

"Clear out the room for you. Sure," replied Ricky as he turned to head back inside the church.

Rusty quickly grabbed his brother's arm before he said, "I'll do it. You're not saying anything. Remember Mom and Andy's engagement?"

"Come on. That was almost a year ago. How was I supposed to know they hadn't told everyone yet?" asked Ricky.

"If you want any secrets kept, tell me. I'm the one that helped Andy set up the proposal and kept it all a secret from her. This one blurted out that they were engaged in front of the entire team before they'd told them," Rusty said to Brandon.

"Good to know, I guess," replied Brandon amusedly as they all headed back inside the church.

* * *

Once they made their way towards the room the guys were in, Rusty motioned for Ricky to wait with them while he did the talking.

As Rusty opened the door, he said to the guys, "Hey guys. Would you mind waiting outside for a minute? Andy's got a special visitor."

Provenza looked at Rusty confusedly for a moment before he told the group, "You heard him, clear out."

All the men except Andy cleared out as Rusty stood in the doorway and looked at his soon to be step siblings in the hallway before he smiled and said, "He's all yours."

Nicole walked into the room with Brandon as Rusty shut the door behind them to give the group some privacy.

Andy stood rooted to his spot in the middle of the room with a stunned look on his face as Nicole ran up to hug him. As they embraced, Andy stood there staring over Nicole's shoulder at his son.

As Andy let go of Nicole, he looked over at his son and said, "Well, this is certainly a surprise."

"Yeah. Seemed like the right thing to do considering you're getting married, which from what I understand, was your line back in the day," Brandon joked.

Andy smiled to himself for a moment before he said, "You guys must have already gone and seen Sharon."

"Yep. Stepmommy Dearest may have let me in on a few of your secrets," Brandon joked good naturedly.

"Oh jeez," replied Andy.

"Nothing too incriminating," Brandon assured his father.

"Well, if anybody knows all my secrets, it's definitely her," replied Andy.

"Nic, could you..." Brandon trailed off.

"Sure. I'll be right outside" Nicole informed them before she made her exit.

"So...uh...obviously you don't need my approval or anything, but I really like your soon to be wife," Brandon told his father.

"I may not need your approval, but it still means a lot. You're my son, Brandon, and it's important that whoever I marry gets along well with my children," replied Andy.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, I know I've been a bit of a jerk to you for a while now-" started Brandon before Andy stopped him.

"You haven't been a jerk, Brandon. I messed things up a long time ago and lost your trust. I'm not under the impression that I can wave a magic wand and erase what I did to my family. It doesn't work like that. Any process to even begin to regain that trust is going to be long and difficult and more than a little painful at times. It definitely won't be easy, but putting in the effort to regain even a fraction of the trust you and your sister lost in me all those years ago will always be worth it to me," Andy told his son.

"Umm...that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. We may have a lot of work to do to begin repairing our relationship, but for years now I haven't even let you try. That part's on me and I'm sorry for that," apologized Brandon.

"I appreciate that, but there's really no need to apologize. You weren't ready yet and I eventually came to understand that," Andy told Brandon.

"Truthfully, it probably had a lot more to do with me being stubborn than it did with not being ready," admitted Brandon.

"You definitely get that from me," Andy told him.

"Yeah, that's what I told Sharon and she said that she'd experienced that side of you on both a professional and personal level," said Brandon.

"Why the woman still wants to marry me, I have no idea," said Andy.

"Don't sell yourself so short, dad. You've done quite a bit over the years to improve yourself and your life. It's obvious after meeting and talking with Sharon that she wouldn't have agreed to be with you unless you'd truly changed. She doesn't strike me as the type to put up with that sort of thing," said Brandon.

"Definitely not. Especially after what she's been through over the years. Nor would I ever want to put anyone I love through that again," replied Andy.

"Yeah, she mentioned something about that. Her ex sounds like a real piece of work," commented Brandon.

"You have no idea and I hope you never do. I may be an alcoholic, but I always tried to take care of you and your sister in whatever way I could. That dirtbag couldn't even bother to pay child support," said Andy.

"Like I said, piece of work. Do you mind if I ask you something?" Brandon asked him.

"Sure," answered Andy as he motioned for Brandon to continue.

"Okay. Umm...would you be open to going to therapy with me starting in a few weeks?" asked Brandon.

Andy's eyes began to well up with tears as he gave Brandon a watery smile and said, "You name the time and the place and I'll be there."

"Okay. Thanks. Umm...can I ask you one more thing?" inquired Brandon.

"Anything," replied Andy.

"Did you know about Sharon's letter?" Brandon asked him.

"What letter?" asked Andy confusedly.

Brandon pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket before he handed it to his father and said, "You might wanna wait until you've got a minute to yourself to read that, but you should definitely read it. Just give it back to me at the reception. I'll bring you a copy of it the next time I see you."

"Okay, thanks," said Andy.

"No problem. I'm gonna go grab Nic and bring her in for a minute. I'm sure she'll wanna say something," said Brandon.

"Brandon?" said Andy questioningly.

"Yeah?" asked Brandon from his place near the door.

"This is the greatest gift you could've given me today," Andy told him.

"Good. Cause the invitation said no gifts," joked Brandon lightheartedly as he smiled at his dad.

"I'm glad we're finally doing this," Andy told him.

"Me too," replied Brandon before he opened the door and went in search of his sister.

* * *

Nicole and Brandon ended up visiting with Andy for a few more minutes before they offered their goodbyes and made their way into the main part of the church to take their seats. As they were leaving the community room, Brandon told the guys that his dad wanted some time to himself and had asked that they wait five to ten minutes before going back inside.

Meanwhile, back inside Andy pulled the envelope his son had handed him out of his pocket. He pulled the two pieces of paper out of the envelope and carefully unfolded them. Once he opened the letter, he smiled to himself for a moment as he noticed Sharon's familiar handwriting covering the pages before he began to read the letter. It read:

 _Dear Brandon,_

 _We don't really know each other, but my name is Sharon Raydor, and in a little over a week I will be marrying your father. I know the two of you have your issues and that's entirely between the two of you to work through. What I will say though, is that I'll always be here to listen and be a sounding board for the both of you should you need it. I don't claim to be an expert at any of this, but I do have some firsthand experience in seeing what addiction does to a family. My ex-husband chose drinking and gambling over me and our two children, Emily and Ricky. I saw what that did to my kids as they were growing up and what it still does to them every time their father chooses alcohol and gambling over them. I'm not under any illusions that what's transpired between you and your father can be fixed with the wave of a magic wand. It's a deep and very complicated wound whose damage will probably take years to repair, will likely include quite a few difficult conversations between the two of you, and require a lot of patience and dedication on both of your parts to even begin the process of trying to heal such a painful wound. Both of you have to want to make it work and I completely understand if you're not quite at that point yet._

 _I just want to say a few things, if I may, about the man that your father is today. As long as I've known your father (which is quite a long time actually), he's always been a stubborn man (and still is to a certain extent). With that being said, behind all of that is a man with good intentions. Some of the tactics he chooses to employ at times might be debatable, but his intentions are good. I've seen this firsthand both in a professional and personal capacity. He deeply cares for those he loves and fiercely (and occasionally literally) fights to protect or shield them from danger or harm. Maybe that's a cop's instinct or maybe that's just the way he's wired, but either way it's one of the things I love most about him. He'll wait in case you need him. He'll fight like hell for those he loves and cares about. Whether it's to get justice for the victims of the crimes we investigate or to make amends and do his best to be there for you and your sister the way he might not have been when you guys were younger or slam a dirtbag criminal against a wall because he sucker punched me in the face. On top of fighting for all of us and the good people of Los Angeles, he also wakes up every day and goes toe to toe with his own demons, which as a cop (or anybody really) is not an easy thing to do. Choosing those you love over your addiction is the easier part of the journey. It's fighting that voice in your head telling you that you need a drink after a day spent arresting and interrogating the biggest scumbags in Los Angeles that's the much more challenging part. Still though, your dad has chosen sobriety every day for the last twenty one years because he loves you and your sister, me for the last couple years, and most importantly, himself, more than anything a drink could ever do for him. He chooses to come home every night, or talk to one of us, or go to a meeting after a difficult day instead of drowning his sorrows in a bar somewhere. He chooses to surround himself with all the light and love and support he has in his life instead of drowning in the darkness we see every day at work._

 _So, if you're wondering how someone with an alcoholic ex-husband can love and_ _want to marry a man who is too, an alcoholic, these are some of the reasons why. Your dad chooses me, his family, and the rest of the people he cares about (and who care about him) instead of choosing to continue hurting himself and everybody he loves by drinking himself to death. Those choices make all the difference to me._

 _With all of that being said, I hope you will join your dad and me in celebration next Saturday, but completely understand if you aren't ready to take that step yet. My only hope is that someday soon, the two of you will find a way to come together and begin the process of trying to heal the vastly complicated wound that exists between the two of you._

 _All the best,_

 _Sharon Raydor_

As Andy finished reading Sharon's letter to Brandon, he could feel the tears streaming down his face. He quickly set the letter down on the table before pulling the pocket square out of his suit jacket and using it to dab at the tears that continued to fall from his eyes.

Once Andy began to regain his composure, he ran his fingers over the letter as he took a moment to consider just how lucky he was to have a woman like Sharon in his life. She loved and accepted him for who he was, flaws and all. She was warm and kind and the breath of fresh air he'd needed in his life. They balanced each other out rather well and Sharon had this unique ability to be able to calm whatever storm was surrounding him with the gentle touch of her hand or a glance at him from across the room or words of advice when he needed it most. She radiated warmth wherever she went and to anybody she came in contact with, but was definitely not afraid to call people on their bullshit when necessary. She cared about people and what happened to them and that was what made this moment all the more emotional for him. Sharon had taken the time to write his son a letter and mail it to him. She'd been warm and welcoming and supportive, while at the same time remaining neutral and giving both him and Brandon space to figure out how to begin fixing things between them in their own time and in their own way. Andy was almost positive that this letter was the reason Brandon had decided to come to the wedding this afternoon and was at the very least a motivating factor in why he had decided it was time he and his dad began to work on their fractured relationship. Why he'd decided to begin the process of trying to bridge the gap between them and attempt to heal at least some of the hurt Andy and his addiction had caused him over the years.

Andy wasn't always sure why someone as amazing as Sharon would choose to be with someone like him, but he was thankful everyday that she'd come into his life when she had and that out of all the guys she could've easily had her pick of, Sharon had chosen to love him. She'd said yes to him when he'd asked her to marry him and be by his side for the rest of their lives and today they'd make vows to one another and say I do. Andy still couldn't believe all of this was happening, but he vowed to spend the rest of his life showing Sharon that she'd made the right choice when she'd told him fine in the middle of the murder room on that night in early July almost two and a half years ago.

* * *

About 45 minutes before the wedding was due to start, Sharon and her bridesmaids arrived at the church. The photographer took some pre-wedding pictures of them in front of the church before they made their way inside and into another vacant community room set up for them. Once they were all inside, Emily asked her mom, "You want me to go find Ricky & Rusty and bring them back here?"

"Sure," replied Sharon before Emily exited the room to go get her brothers.

Emily walked down to the other end of the hallway and softly knocked on the door to the community room the men were occupying. A moment later, she heard Provenza bellow, "Come in."

As Emily opened the door and entered the room, Andy said, "Hey Emily. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Mom just wanted to steal Ricky and Rusty for a few minutes," explained Emily.

Ricky & Rusty walked towards the doorway and just as Emily was about to leave with them, Andy piped up, "Hey Emily?"

"Yeah?" Emily asked him.

"Would you mind hanging back for a few minutes?" Andy asked her.

"Sure," answered Emily as she reentered the room.

"You heard Flynn. Out," Provenza told the rest of the groomsmen.

Provenza and the rest of the groomsmen filed out of the room before Emily said, "So, we got to meet Brandon earlier. He seems nice."

"Yeah. He's a good kid. Not sure how much of that he got from me though," joked Andy self deprecatingly.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Andy. You may have made some mistakes in the past, but at least you've worked over the years to change things. Plus, from what mom's told me, you've always tried to be there for your kids, even when they pushed you away and shut you out. Your kids are lucky to have a dad who wants to be there for them," Emily told him.

Andy gave Emily a watery smile as he wrapped her in a hug for a few moments before he let go of her and said, "I know I can't take your dad's place or make up for all the things he's done or hasn't done over the years, but I can promise to always be there for you. Your mom & I may be the ones getting married today, but we both agree that family is very important to us. Our family may be a blended one, but that doesn't make any of you kids any less family to us than the other just because you're not biologically ours."

Emily smiled at Andy as she choked out emotionally, "Thank you, Andy. That truly means a lot."

"Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you," said Andy as he reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a medium sized black box.

As Andy handed Emily the box, she asked surprisedly, "What's this, Andy?"

"Just a little something I though you should have today," Andy told her.

Emily opened the box to reveal a round silver pendant necklace with the following engraved on it:

 _You may not have my eyes or smile, but from that very first moment you had my heart._

The bottom of the necklace was signed in the same way Sharon had signed the necklaces she'd given to Nicole & Brandon. A punched out heart with Andy's name next to it.

Emily ran her hand over the engraving on the pendant for a moment before she looked up at Andy with tears in her eyes as she said, "No wonder mom's always smiling or crying happy tears. Seriously though, my dad hasn't ever given me anything special like this in the twenty nine years since I've been born."

"Well, he should have. All daughters deserve to have a dad who makes them feel loved, protected, and cared for," Andy told Emily.

"Yeah. Look, I know you gave that whole speech about not trying to replace my dad and all that, but the simple fact that you always seem to be there when we or Mom need you says and means so much to all of us. Ricky and I could never really count on our dad to actually be there while we were growing up and Rusty's really never known what it's like to have a father. So, it's really nice to know that there's someone else in our lives besides Mom and each other that we can count on to be there whenever we need them to be. Also, I've never seen Mom as happy and content in her life as she's been these past two years with you. That's all any of us have ever wanted for her," said Emily.

"She deserves all of that and more and so do the three of you. All four of you have encountered enough difficult things in your lives through the years. You deserve to have at least one thing in your lives that's simple and easy and doesn't require you to be the adult or the bad guy all the time," replied Andy.

"I guess you're right. I should be getting back, but thank you so much. For this and for being everything Mom & us could've asked for and more," Emily told him.

"You guys make it easy," responded Andy as he briefly wrapped Emily in a hug.

"I'm not so sure about that, but thank you anyways," Emily told Andy as she hugged him back.

"No problem, kid. Tell your mom I'll meet her at the end of the aisle in about thirty minutes," instructed Andy as he broke the hug.

"She's definitely looking forward to that moment too. She's especially looking forward to seeing your reaction when those church doors open and you see her in her dress for the first time. We've all been given strict instructions not to reveal anything to you about it beforehand either," said Emily.

"Well, apparently I'm not the only one full of surprises today," Andy commented.

Emily chuckled before she said, "She also said you'd say something like that."

"Well, if anybody knows me, warts and all, it's definitely her," joked Andy.

To Andy's surprise, Emily wrapped him in another momentary hug before she pulled back and said, "We're all so happy that you're marrying our mom today."

"I'm just glad she actually said yes," joked Andy as Emily opened the door.

"We are too," replied Emily before she took her leave and disappeared down the hallway and back into the community room her mom and the rest of the bridesmaids were currently occupying.

As Andy and the rest of the groomsmen walked back into the room, Andy could help but think about how much his life had changed in the last few years. He had a woman in his life that he absolutely adored and couldn't get enough of, the size of his family had grown from three to seven, and with Sharon's help, the relationships he had with his kids were getting better every day. Andy truly couldn't imagine another time when he'd been this happy with his life and the direction it was heading. He was about to marry the woman he loved and Sharon had made the decision to change her last name to Flynn after they were married. From this day forward, they'd be husband and wife and the thought of that alone was enough to make him grin like a lovesick idiot.

Andy's thoughts were soon interrupted by Provenza saying, "Would you wipe that stupid grin off your face and get in the game, Flynn? Its show time and I don't even wanna know what Sharon would do if this wedding doesn't start on schedule. Plus, I'm not all that eager to face Patrice's wrath if I don't get you in there on time."

Andy took a deep breath before he turned to Provenza and confidently replied, "I'm ready." 

A/N: I apologize that it's taken so long to get this chapter finished and posted. The busyness of the holiday season along with a weekend road trip kinda ate into my writing time there for a bit. Anyways, please leave me a review to let me know what you thought of this latest chapter. I greatly appreciate getting everybody's feedback on this fic! Also, Chapter 4 will be completely focused on Sharon & Andy's wedding ceremony. So, stay tuned!


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